


Battle of the Proposals

by jhoom



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Because They're Dorks, Fluff, M/M, Shipper!Sam, dean and cas being stubborn dorks, general nonsense, marriage proposals, prank wars but with marriage proposals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-27 10:14:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8397655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jhoom/pseuds/jhoom
Summary: Great minds think alike, or so they say.  But what happens when two very stubborn men happen upon the same idea at the same time?  (Or where Cas and Dean compete to see who gets to propose to the other first.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> this is at least in part inspired by [perfackle](http://perfackles.tumblr.com)'s [post](http://perfackles.tumblr.com/post/148107391007/cas-would-you-do-me-the-honor-of-becoming-my)
> 
> thanks to those of you who suggested cheesy proposals ^-^
> 
> come visit me on [tumblr](http://jhoomwrites.tumblr.com)

Great minds think alike, or so they say.  But what happens when two very stubborn men happen upon the same idea at the same time?

It happens innocently enough.  They’re at a diner getting lunch after a case, feet entwined under the table and stealing food off each other’s plates.  And sure, there’s a bit of back and forth as they argue over where to head next - either look for another hunt or book it home to the bunker - when the waitress giggles.  

Pouring more coffee, she apologizes.  “Sorry, but you two are adorable, bickering like an ol’ married couple.  How long you two been together?”

“Three years,” Dean answers with a smile.

“Feels more like three hundred,” grumbles Sam.  He receives a swat on the back of the head for his efforts.  

“Well, you two are just about the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.  Y’all should make honest men out of each other,” she adds with a wink.

Outwardly, they brush it off.  But the idea’s there, lingering in their subconscious until they’re both considering it very seriously.  In their free time, they start looking into it.  Finding a jeweler they like, planning out how they’re going to ask.  Each can see it so vividly in their head that it never occurs to them that the other is planning much the same.

Castiel tries first.

He reserves a table at a fancy restaurant - jacket required - and talks to their server beforehand.  The dinner goes perfectly and Dean seems none the wiser.  He has no reason to be suspicious, not yet anyway.  Because he, again, has also been planning his proposal down to the letter.  The very notion that Cas would try to propose to him isn’t in the realm of possibilities.

… Until Castiel orders champagne with their dessert.

Gears rapidly turning in his head, Dean realizes what’s about to happen.  That little shit thinks _he_ gets to ask _Dean_ to marry him?  Oh hell no.  If anyone gets to do the proposing, it’s _Dean_.  Determined to have his way, Dean very loudly blurts out, “Actually, babe, I think I’m full.”

“You’re full,” Cas repeats dumbly.  He doesn’t say it, but they both know those are two words Dean Winchester has never said together.

“Yeah,” he reiterates.  “Maybe we should go home and skip the dessert.”

In a vein effort to understand, Cas merely says, “But it’s _pie_.”

Shit, he forgot about that.  But damn if he’s going to let Cas win this one.  “What can I say?  I’m stuffed.”  For a terrible second there he thinks his stomach’s going to growl and betray him, but it remains quiet.  

They forgo dessert and get the check.  The server discretely slips something into Cas’ right before they leave, and Dean smiles in victory.

Dean’s first attempt is, he’s pleased to say, a huge romantic gesture that’s way better than Cas’ was.  They’re at a park on a beautiful autumn day.  The skies are clear, the temperature’s only starting to dip, and it’s all and all perfect.  Walking hand and hand, Dean can’t help but looking up at the sky every so often.  

The nervous tick is what clues Cas in.  

A loud plane engine is heard over the sound of birds chirping and children playing, the whole park looking up to watch the skywriter fly into view.  And Castiel, master strategist of his barrack _is not going to let the human win_.   _He_ will propose to the hunter and the hunter will accept.

As soon as the first puff of smoke appears, he extends his grace.  With a little angelic intervention, a large gust of wind blows it all away before a single letter can form.  The plane keeps looping through its patterns until it apparently gives up, turning back the way it came.  Dean stares open-mouthed after it before turning his gaze to Cas.

In that moment, there’s a silent understanding.  They wordlessly agree to the terms of their duel, a match of wits to see who gets to propose to the other.  And sure, a saner couple would laugh and agree to the engagement right then and there.  But that’s not Dean and Cas.

Castiel’s second try is a ferris wheel.  They happen upon a county fair while investigating a local salt and burn, and Cas coaxes the hunter into the metal contraption.  It’s a testament to how much Dean loves his angel that he’d go up so high, but after judging it’s not high enough to kill him, he agrees.

When their little cart stops at the top, Dean takes a look around.  He has to admit, it’s a great view of the surrounding farms.  It’s actually kind of romantic-

His head snaps to Cas, who’s reaching for his pockets.  In desperation, Dean scans the cart for something _anything_ to use as a distraction.  Seeing only one option, he grabs the metal bar securing them in place and with a monumental effort snaps it right off its moorings.  

Castiel’s startled by the aggressive display, more so when Dean leans over and shouts at the ride operator, “Hey, is this important?  Feels kinda _dangerous_ up here without it.”  Then he uses the momentum of his legs to swing the cart back and forth a few times (all while clutch the metal back of his seat for dear life).  

There’s some cursing from below as the ride is started.  They’re let off first, followed by all the other patrons as the ride is shut down for repairs.  Dean tries to keep the metal bar as a souvenir, but neither Castiel nor the fair staff let him.

Later that week they go to a basketball game because, as he implies heavily to Cas, there’s nothing romantic about basketball.  With the angel sufficiently put off guard, Dean’s in a good mood.   

The kiss cam comes up on the jumbotron and Cas notices out of the corner of his eye how Dean’s hand moves to clutch at something in his pocket.  In a moment of blind panic, he grabs Dean’s beer and spills it all over his pants.  Dean squawks and gives up on his proposal, too busy trying to pat his jeans dry.  

He doesn’t even notice when the kiss cam falls on them, the people around them whispering and giggling.  He does, however, feel the chaste kiss Cas’ presses to his cheek and the _aww_ ’s that follow.  

(And Dean has to admit, that was well-played.  Not breaking a ferris wheel good, but not half bad.)

The rest happen in quick succession.  

While in New York they go on a carriage ride through Central Park.  Dean catches on to Cas’ plan with a few seconds to spare, leaping off the moving carriage after yelling “You’re it!’ and running further into the park.  Cas has no choice but to give up and continue Dean’s impromptu game of tag.

The next time they’re getting supplies in town, Dean draws Cas’ attention to the local pet store.  He asks if Cas wants to finally get that guinea pig.  Cas is too suspicious - and rightly so - to step foot in the shop.  With no small amount of dismay, he sighs and says, “I don’t think that’s wise, Dean.”

Jody hosts a Thanksgiving gathering with Donna and the girls.  Right in the middle of their post dinner game of charades, Castiel gets down on one knee and reaches into his pocket… Only to find the ring box gone and Dean grinning like the cat who caught the canary.  He awkwardly pretends to tie his shoe instead (much to Donna’s vocal disappointment).  Later that night he finds the ring box under his pillow with a note attached.   _‘Nice try.’_

Dean goes to a crafts store (embarrassing) to get just the right colors of string.  He weaves together the blue and green threads, twisting their ends together in a knot.  When he finds Cas in the library, he holds it out.  Before he can ask Cas if he wants to tie the knot with him, Cas snatches it up and cuts it with a pair of scissors he randomly has handy.  Then he thanks Dean for his contribution to the even more random cross stitching he pulls out of his pocket.

(Dean can’t deny that he’s impressed with that one.)

The latest try is a stop at a carnival on the way home from Michigan.  There’s a Tunnel o Love, complete with cheesy music playing on speakers outside, and Sam suggests they go no it together while he grabs some food.  They sit in the large plastic swan floating along a pink river, joking about the cupids decorating the walls.

Just before the last bend, they both reach into their pockets at the same time.  They catch their boyfriend making the same move, make eye contact, and nod to each other in defeat.  Without a word, they both move to their side of the swan and fall overboard.

It gets so bad that neither will enter a room without peeking around the corner first to check for random romantic displays.  Neither will eat anything the other cooks for them without repeatedly stabbing it with their forks to make sure it’s devoid of rings.  At one point they go through a phase where they sew the other’s pockets shut in an attempt to prevent them from hiding the rings anywhere.

One winter morning they find themselves in the kitchen, eyeing each other warily over breakfast.  Dean abruptly stands up to go refill his coffee, startling Cas and nearly making him spill his own cup.  Sam glares at them like he wants to stab them, but he reverts back to his impassive mask soon after.  

While Dean’s buttering a few slices of toast and Cas is working on the crossword puzzle (occasionally stealing glances at Dean, taking particular care to see if he’s hidden a ring somewhere on his person), Sam makes his move.  He throws something on the floor, it clattering to a stop by Cas’ foot.

“Oh hey Cas, sorry about that.  You mind-?”

“Of course not, Sam.”  He bends over to pick up the small velvet box.  Only because he isn’t expecting it does he manage to pick it up without recognizing what it is.  When he looks back up, Sam his on his knees in front of.  

“Cas, would you do me the honor of becoming my brother in law?”

The room is silent as Dean and Cas digest what’s happening.  “Did you… did you just _propose_ to my boyfriend?” Dean stammers.  Then he walks over to investigate, no doubt recognizing the familiar burgundy box.  “Sonofabitch.”

He collapses back into his own seat.  He yelps and jumps back to his feet, looking at his chair.  Castiel watches as Dean picks up a small charcoal box that, except for the color, is identical to the one he now holds.  One that is all too familiar, given the care he’d taken in choosing the ring inside it.

“Dean, would you do me the honor of marrying my best friend?” Sam asks, still perched on his knee by the table.

“Did you just propose _for_ my boyfriend?”

“Somebody had to, Dean!  It’s been _months_.”

Ignoring Sam, Castiel grips the box tightly.  “Dean, you didn’t answer his question.”

Dean’s eyes go wide for a moment before he recovers.  “Yeah well, you didn’t either,” he accuses.  

Eyes locked, they have another silent debate.  Both agree that, technically, since _Sam_ asked neither of them lost.  Which is perhaps better, since the other won’t be able to hang it over their heads for the rest of their married lives.  (Of course there’s no way _Sam_ won’t do that to both of them, but there’s no avoiding that now.)

At the same time, they whisper, “Yes.”

**Author's Note:**

>  **bonus scene 1:  
> **  
>  sam: oh my GOD i'm so glad that's over with...  
> sam: okay yeah, perfectly reasonable to kiss after proposing to each other, i get that......  
> sam: more tongue than i would consider appropriate......  
> sam: ON THE FUCKING KITCHEN TABLE ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  
> sam: *as he's leaving the room* Y'ALL BETTER CLEAN THAT SHIT UP WHEN YOU'RE DONE  
> sam: *to himself as he angrily starts texting everyone they've ever met* i had better be both your best man for the shit i put up with
> 
> **bonus scene 2 (nsfw):**  
>  y'all _know_ these boys thought they could get away with a mid-sex proposal. dean tries it first. bouncing on cas' cock, he leans over him to try and rummage through his nightstand for the ring. but then cas grabs his hips and starts slamming into his prostate and he genuinely forgets. when cas tries, hand reaching into his discarded trenchcoat pocket, dean renders the angel speechless by taking his dick into his mouth and doing the tongue thing he knows drives Cas wild.   
>  needless to say all other attempts are as equally fruitless.


End file.
